Latch securing means for a container



P 1970 R. c. WOLFE 353L011 LATCH SECURING MEANS FOR A CONTAINER Filed Dec. 18, 1-968 I 2 Sheets-Sheet).

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Sept. 29, 1970' Filed Dec. 18, 1968 R. C. WOLFE LATCH SECURING MEANS FOR A CONTAINER v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR United States Patent LATCH SECURING MEANS FOR A CONTAINER Russell C. Wolfe, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Dixie Manufacturing Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed Dec. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 784,755 Int. Cl. B65d 41/06 U.S. Cl. 220-40 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Securing means for an enclosure including a vessel with a hinged door thereon with said door having a plurality of lug means in the outer periphery thereof so that the door can be closed and the lug means can be rotated so as to provide a breeching or bayonet type action, without the usual wedge type configuration, and in which the door is provided with substantially flat opposing sides and liquid tight sealing means embodied in the vessel, including a continuous groove means adjacent one side of the door when it is in a closed position, with resilient sealing means therein, and means for supplying fluid pressure against the sealing means so that the sealing means is forced against said door side to provide a liquid tight seal.

The present invention relates to an enclosure such as a vessel and the like and door means for closing the vessel, which door means establishes a water tight and fluid tight closure seal for the vessel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a door for closing off the end of a vessel and the like, which is utilized as a breeching or bayonet type door, but without the usual wedge action normally found on such doors.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a breeching or bayonet type door for closing off an enwedge action normally found on such doors, but which instead is provided with flat diametrically opposed sides so that the door can be opened and closed very easily.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic locking and sealing arrangement for a breeching or bayonet type door which does not have the disadvantages of the wedge action normally associated therewith, so that the door can be quickly opened and closed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a breeching or bayonet type door for closing off an enclosure in which the door is provided with flat opposing sides and recess means are provided in the enclosure with resilient gasket means therein, and pneumatic supply means are provided for forcing the gasket means into contact with the adjacent side of the door, so as to provide a fluid tight and liquid tight seal therebetween.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a door of the breeching or bayonet type arrangement without the usual wedge action normally found on said doors, and in which the door does not actually come into contact with sealing means embodied in the enclosure, other than superficially, until pressure is applied to the interior of the internal compartment disposed in the enclosure.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a quick opening door that can be used in the hyperbaric and diving fields, which provides the safety features of a breeching or bayonet type lock without the Wedge action normally found on such locks, and in which a sealing means is provided which is self-energizing through fluid pressure supply means.

3,531,111 1 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 Another object of the present invention is to provide a quick opening access door for an enclosure or vessel that is of the breeching or bayonet type locking arrangement without the wedge action normally found in such arrangements, which is provided with a pneumatic locking and sealing device which is relatively inexpensive in construction and comprises very few parts and may be quickly and inexpensively applied to enclosures in vessels now in the field and which device is yet simple and strong and durable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a breeching type locking door without the usual wedge action for sealing off the interior of a vessel or compartment, in which the vessel is provided with gasket sealing means, which only come into contact with the door when pressure is applied to the internal compartment through a provisioning port and the like, associated with the vessel.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a breeching type lock or securing means for a vessel with resilient gasket means embodied therein so that when pneumatic pressure is exerted thereagainst, the gasket means will float against the door surface to form a tight seal between the latched door and the vessel.

Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will be rather apparent from the following detailed description, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an end view of a vessel having the latch means of the present invention embodied therein;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the lines 22 of FIG. 1 illustrating the pneumatic supply line for the sealing means embodied in the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view of the vessel illustrated in FIG. 2 but on a smaller scale, and with the breeching or bayonet type door in a closed position and with another door in a closed position disposed on the rear of the vessel;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the vessel and door shown in FIG. 3, or a view looking at it from the left side;

FIG. 5 is a rear View of the vessel shown in FIG. 3 or looking at it from the right side;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vessel and breeching or bayonet type door embodied in the invention, illustrated in a partially opened position; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detailed view of the door latching means embodied in the invention with the fluid pressure line means for supplying pneumatic pressure to the sealing means shown in communication with the exterior of the vessel.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 generally designates an enclosure for cylindrical vessels made of steel or other metal, and which may be used in the hyperbaric field or the diving field, wherein it may be subjected to high presure on its exterior, such as in the diving field, or where it may be subjected to hyperbaric pressure on its internal or interior compartment. The vessel is open at its front and rear ends 12 and 14, respectively, and is provided with a thicker wall portion 16 adjacent its front end which tapers to a narrower wall portion 18 adjacent its rear end. The rear end of the vessel is also provided" with a peripheral flange member 20 extending around its outer surface.

The front end 12 of the vessel is provided with a countersink 22 therein of substantially larger diameter than the interior diameter 24 of the vessel. The countersink 22 provides an annular shoulder 26, adjacent the front end of the vessel, and a continous substantially rectangular groove 28 is disposed in the face of the shoulder. The groove is provided with a sealing gasket in the form of an O-ring member of resilient material, such as plastic material or rubber.

The groove 28 is in communication with a drilled passage 32, as best seen in FIG.'2, which has its rear end, in in communication with a radially drilled passage 34, which is drilled through the thick wall portion 16. The inner and the outer ends of the radial passage 34 are in communication with the interior and exterior surfaces of the vessel 10. The outer end of the radial passage 34 is provided with an enlarged threaded section 36 for receiving a complementary threaded plug, not shown, therein. Disposed rearwardly of the drilled pasage 34 is another radially drilled passage 38, which also communicates with the interior and the exterior surfaces of the vessel. The passage 38 is generally used for supplying to the interior of the vessel a source of power, such as electrical power and the like, and is suitably sealed by any well known means after the electrical conduit or other cable or the like is fed therethrough.

The front end of the vessel forward of the countersink 22 is provided with an in-turned portion 40 formed integral with the vessel wall, and provided with a plurality of alternate arcuate slots 42 and arcuate ribs 44, so as to provide a latch or breech or bayonet type securing means for a door or closure member 46 attached to the vessel.

The door or closure member 46 is substantially flat on its opposite sides and is provided with a plurality of complementary outwardly extending ribs 48 with alternate slots 50, which ribs or outwardly extending lugs 48 are adapted to be inserted through the corresponding slots 42 and thereafter turned or rotated so as to be disposed under the corresponding ribs or lugs 44 of the in-turned portion 40.

The closure door is disposed on a spindle 56 having a T handle 60, which handle is adapted to be rotated so that the closure member 46 aflixed thereto will rotate in the same direction that the handle 60 is turned. The spindle is pivotally secured by any well known means to a bar or arm member 52, which in turn is pivotally connected to a pin 58 disposed in the lug members 54.

The rear end of the vessel is provided with a hinged door or closure member 62 hingedly connected to spaced lug members 64 by a pin 66. The upper end of the vessel, as best seen in FIG. 3, is provided with a pair of vertical ears or lugs 68 adapted to receive a headed bolt member 70, that is hingedly connected to a pair of lugs 72 affixed to the top of the vessel. The closure member 62 is disposed in a liquid tight or fluid tight arrangement With the rear end of the vessel by disposing the bolt member 70 between the lugs 68 and threading the bolt head 74 along the threaded portion of the bolt member 70 until it bears against the ears 68. The closure member 62 is preferably provided with a delta gasket adjacent its inner surface which bears against the corresponding rear surface of the vessel 10. If desired, any other suitable sealing means may be utilized to provide a liquid tight seal between the inner surface of the closure member 62 and the rear end of the vessel.

When it is desired to provide a liquid tight seal between the fiat surface of the front closure member 46 and the corresponding surface, which is the shoulder 26 of the vessel 10, the hinged door or closure member 46 is swung from an open position to a position adjacent the inturned portion 40. The handle 60 is rotated in one direction or another to that the ribs or lugs 48 will pass through corresponding slots 42 in the in-turned portion 40'. Thereafter, the handle is rotated so that the ribs or lugs 48 will be rotated or turned so that they are directly behind the corresponding ribs 44 of the in-turned portion.

At this time, the door surfaces do not actually come in contact with the gasket member other than superficially.

It is not until fluid under pressure, such as air, is applied or passage, such as the radial passage 34. When the pneumatic air pressure is applied through the passage 34 and the drilled passage 32, it will pass around the groove 28 and will cause the gasket therein to be deformed, so that a seal is provided between the interior surface of the closure member 46 and the gasket 30, to thus insure a liquid tight seal between the interior of the vessel and the surface of the closure member 46.

Referring to FIG. 6, it will be noted that a drilled passage 76 and 78 is provided in the wall section 16. This is an auxiliary pressure passage and additional air under pressure may be applied to this portion of the groove 28. This auxiliary passage 78 is disposed adjacent the top of the vessel and on the opposite of the drilled passage 34.

If desired, and assuming that the internal or interior compartment of the vessel 10 is under a pressure above atmospheric pressure, the internal compartment will directly supply the necessary fluid pressure to deform the gasket and cause it to bear against the surface of the 010- sure member to provide a liquid tight seal and an air tight seal therebetween.

If desired, pneumatic pressure may be applied through the passage 34 by removing any threaded plug or the like that is disposed in the enlarged opening 36 and the necessary pressure to form the locking o-r securing arrangement may be supplied directly from the outside of the vessel.

If desired, the pneumatic pressure necessary to provide the seal and to cause the gasket to bear against the inner surface of the door may be supplied from both within the interior and from the exterior of the vessel.

Thus, from the foregoing description, it is apparent that the present invention provides a breeching or bayonet type locking or latching arrangement without the wedge action normally found on such locking arrangements. This arrangement permits the door to be quickly opened and closed very easily, and thus provides a seal that is self-' energizing through the passages in communication with the gasket means.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, location and relative arrangements of several parts without departing from the essential characteristics of the invention, and it is to be understood that this invention is not to be limited except by the scope of the appended claims:

What is claimed is:

1. A diving vessel comprising a substantially elongated cylindrical member having open opposite ends, one of said ends having a continuous circumferential recess therein forming a shoulder adjacent said end, said shoulder having an annular recess disposed in its face, a resilient O-ring sealing member disposed in said recess of substantially smaller cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of said recess, a passage drilled through said cylindrical member in communication with said recess and the interior surface of said cylindrical member, said cylindrical member having in inturned portion extending inwardly thereof in spaced relationship with said shoulder, said inturned portion comprising a plurality of alternate peripheral recesses and circumferentially spaced ribs, door means for seating against said shoulder comprising a breech structure with oppositely disposed parallel surfaces and a plurality of alternate peripheral recesses and circumferentially spaced ribs complementary to said first mentioned peripheral recesses and circumferential ribs, an arm member hingedly fixed to said cylindrical member, said door means being rotatably connected to said arm member for swinging said door means through said first mentioned recesses and behind said first mentioned circumferential ribs to seat said door over said shoulder and dispose it superficially against said sealing means, a rear closure member disposed in liquid tight relationship on the opposite end of said cylindrical member whereby air pressure in said cylindrical member supplies a source of pressure to said sealing means to press it against said door means and provide a liquid tight seal.

6 2. The vessel of claim 1 wherein said rear closure mem- References Cited ber includes a circular member hingedly connected to UNITED STATES PATENTS said cylindrical member and a pair of spaced lug members fixed on said cylindrical member and a threated bolt fixed 1,833,208 ll/ 1931 Davidson 22046 to said cylindrical member with an enlarged bolt head 5 1,889,606 11/ 1932 Lange 22046 adapted to be threaded thereon until it bears against said 3,352,446 11/ 7 Anderson et a1 0 6 lug members.

3. The vessel of claim 2 wherein drilled passage means GEORGE HALL Pnmary Exammer are disposed in said cylindrical member to supply an elec- US. Cl. X.R. trical power source thereto. 10 22030.5, 46 

